Stanford Medicine The U.S. measles surge is a sign that more vaccination is needed, said a Stanford Medicine pediatric infectious disease physician. Here’s what else she wants you to know. After a sustained surge of measles outbreaks last year, the United States is likely to lose its status as a country that has eliminated the highly infectious disease.
“Losing that designation means we are seeing ongoing domestic spread of measles, which we’ve failed to stop over the course of a year,” said Stanford Medicine’s Sruti Nadimpalli, MD MPH, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and a specialist in pediatric infectious disease.
“Elimination” of a disease means there has been no sustained transmission within a country for at least a year, although sporadic cases may still be brought in by international travelers. Loss of elimination status signals that the United States has significant gaps in measles vaccination and outbreak control, according to Nadimpalli.